Searching for Light
by ReenstheHedgehog3
Summary: (Rewrite of my original story, When Metal Met Gold. Same chapters but with updated language and editing.) A young female hedgehog interacts with the Sonic cast, having adventures, finding love, and discovering powers she never knew she had. Reens is mine, Sonic & co. are SEGA's, Tobias is Absolhunter251's. Read/Review/Suggest.
1. Prologue

Searching for Light

Prologue

It was a night like any other. Reens was just getting ready for bed when she heard her mother and father yelling at each other in the other room. This was a constant occurrence in the Maricina household, and she tried to block it out to no avail.

"When are you ever going to clean this mess up? Do you want people to think we live in a pigsty?"

"Well, maybe if you actually wanted to help me instead of lounging in that stupid easy chair of yours, it wouldn't be a problem!"

"Oh, so it's my problem this crap is everywhere? What about that no-good daughter of ours? She treats this house like she owns it or something!"

Reens sighed sadly. Her parents, mostly her father, always blamed her for something or other that was wrong with the house. What could she have possibly done to deserve it? She was only a small child, used to exploring the world and making little messes here and there. Of course, she almost always cleaned up after herself; it was her parents that needed a little more self-control.

Then, her bedroom door opened with a creak. Her father staggered into view.

"Daddy?" she whispered, trying not to sound as scared as she truly was. Her father was known for being harsh when it came to his speech, and she knew to expect it. She knew it was because he loved her, and she waited for his words to come.

What she got was different. This was the first time he had ever come close to physical touch. He had never hugged her, stroked her hair, kissed her forehead, or any of the comforting things that she would see fathers doing with their daughters. She braced herself for this new experience.

A slap across the face shattered her dreams.

Reens staggered from the impact on her bed, rubbing her sore cheekbone tenderly. Her light blue orbs settled on her father's normally calm and composed chocolate ones. This time was different. This time he was angry. This time he had been doing something he had promised never to do again.

He was intoxicated.

Another slap on the other cheek snapped Reens out of her thoughts. He proceeded with what he had come to do. With a growl, he pulled her by her braid out of the bed and thrust her upon the floor. It hadn't been cleaned in a while, and Reens received a mouthful of dust and crumbs from past dinners. He then started to talk; because of his drunken state, it was slurred and slow.

"You little rat. Why did I ever decide to put up with ya? I should've never… mumble, mumble, … You're so ungrateful! Treating this house like something you can just… mumble, mumble, …"

Reens tried to raise her hands and cover her ears, but her father had pressed his hands on top of her left wrist, rendering her unable to do so.

"Now you little runt, you're going to get what you deserve…"

He suddenly stood up as his name was being called from the kitchen. "I'll deal with you later," he growled as he walked away, giving Reens a sharp kick in the leg. "Stay there, rat." Reens complied, not willing to move, nor willing to make her father even more cross with her.

It was the first of many encounters … and certainly not the last.


	2. Two Too Late

Searching for Light

Two Too Late

It had been two years since that first horrifying incident. Reens rubbed her eyes as she awakened from her soft bed. She winced as her side started to ache. _Yesterday was one of the worst,_ she thought to herself. Shaking her mussed hair from her face, she began to get ready for the day. As she looked through her closet, she pulled off her shirt to reveal unsightly black and blue bruises. Her father had hit her harder than he usually did then, but this time he also added a new tactic: cigarette burns.

Now, her father didn't smoke, but her mother had a bad habit of lighting one every few minutes. He had taken the cigarettes from her bedside table and had a habit of lighting them and putting them in various spots on Reens' chest. Reens tried not to cry out when he did this, for if she did, he would press harder on the skin.

Sighing, Reens chose her outfit for the day: A slightly dirty white long-sleeved t-shirt with a light blue heart on it, faded jeans with fringed edges, white socks, and blue Converse ® brand shoes with dirtied white laces. She also pulled on her light blue fingerless gloves and goggles, gently caressing the heart necklace she wore on her neck always. Her clothes were mostly donations from her local DAV, but occasionally she would get something new.

"Hey sweetie, you ready yet?"

"Yes, Mom, almost."

"Well you better get down here before I leave without you!" She grinned and ran downstairs, her mother sweeping her up into a gentle hug.

"Leaving for work, mom?"

Her mother was a darker shade of blue, more like a cerulean, and had light purple eyes. Her brown hair was long like Reens, but today she was wearing it up in a bun. Her outfit was a crisp white shirt with buttons and a grey pencil skirt with tan pantyhose and black pumps. She worked as a lawyer dealing in child abuse cases. _Funny how that works,_ Reens thought to herself. She was gently lowered and given a small kiss on the head.

"Ha ha, yes honey. Momma must work extra-long hours today. This child case I recently got is a little more complicated than I imagined. Have a great day, sweetie. Now you better get going before you miss the bus."

Reens grinned and shouldered her backpack, putting a piece of warm toast in her mouth as she headed out the door.

* * *

As Reens walked to the bus stop, she noticed a few other people standing there. One she recognized as Matthew aka Matt, a brown dog with slightly less bright blue eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and black shorts with black Nikes. Another she recognized as Nathaniel aka Nate, who was a white and orange tom with green eyes. He wore nothing but his tennis shoes and socks with a black jacket. The other few she didn't recognize. She shrugged and waited for the bus. Matt was the first to try and strike up conversation with her, but she ignored him. Nate, on the other hand, butted in.

"Hey, man, she doesn't wanna talk to you, so just leave her alone, okay?"

"What's the matter with you, man? Can't I talk to anyone I like?"

They were still bickering with each other as the bus chugged up and opened its doors. The other students went on first, and Reens was the last in line, when suddenly a yellow rabbit walked past her quickly, tripping her.

"Ooh, sorry, didn't see you there," she smirked.

Reens got up quickly, a little too quickly, and immediately winced in pain. The rabbit looked at her with a cocked head.

"I didn't hurt you _that_ bad did I?"

Reens grimaced but shook her head no.

"All right then, rat," the rabbit sneered as the bus doors closed. At that nickname, Reens growled internally.

Her ice blue eyes widened as she watched the bus roll away. She had an urge to run after it, and she ran as fast as she could. Matt and Nate saw her outside the bus window and looked at each other, then Nate poked the driver on the back slightly.

"Hey, can you stop the bus? There's this hedgehog gal trying to get on, and she's running beside it."

The bus driver, a large brown bear, sighed and slowed the bus down, letting Reens climb up the stairs. She thanked him, panting, and sat in the very back of the bus opposite Nate and Matt. As the bus got moving again, she turned to them.

"Thank you for stopping the bus for me."

"Ah, no problem…"

"Oh, I never told you guys who I am. I'm Reens Maricina."

Matt nodded. "You know who we are, right? Glad to finally learn your name."

The bus arrived at Cedarwood High just in time.

"See you in class?" Nate quipped.

"Uh, sure!" Reens responded nervously as she walked off the bus and shouldered her backpack. "Nothing like a new school day to brighten my spirits."

* * *

Her first class was Algebra 2, which she hated with a passion. She had always been good at math, which seemed contradictory, but she hated it because of the incredibly slow pace in which the course was going. She was very smart, but why she wasn't placed in a higher level was unknown. As soon as she sat down and opened her textbook, the intercom started to crackle.

"Reens Maricina to the office, please; Reens Maricina to the office."

The algebra teacher looked at Reens sympathetically and let her go to the cacophony of oohs and jeers. She didn't know what was going on, but due to the look on the teacher's face, it wasn't good.

As she entered the wide office, a tall elephant secretary tapped away on a computer. Reens cleared her throat slightly, and the elephant looked down at her from where she was perched.

"Miss Maricina, correct?"

Reens nodded, and the secretary got down from her chair and talked to the principal before letting Reens into his office. The room was spacious, with various awards and plaques on the walls and a bookshelf with various books. There was his desk with a tall office chair and a large green and blue couch. The principal motioned for her to sit down on the couch, and she did so, almost being swallowed by its large cushions.

He looked at her with a stern face, then placed his hands on the desk.

"Do you know why I've called you here, Miss Maricina?"

Reens fidgeted in her seat and tried not to have her legs shake. "N-no, Principal Maxwell, sir."

The principal leaned forward in his chair as she trembled. "Now there's nothing _you_ did, Miss Maricina, but I am afraid I have some heartbreaking news."

"W-what is it?"

He leaned back and handed her something. It was a gold bracelet with three turquoise beads.

"Where'd you get this? My mom has a bracelet like… this…" Her eyes started to tear up.

The principal sighed apologetically. "I'm afraid your mother is no longer alive. She died in a car accident. I'm sorry."


	3. Death, Dreams, and Drama Queens

Searching for Light

 _Death, Dreams, and Drama Queens_

 **Author's Note: This chapter is so long… Sorry ^^; My friend's character Tobias makes an appearance! Also, Amy and Sonic are mentioned here, but they may get a bit more of a prevalent part in the next chapter. Plus, Blaze is here! ^^ Please read, review, and stay tuned for the next chapter.**

Reens stood next to her mother's grave, wearing a knee-length black dress with long sleeves and black pumps, her necklace being tightly clutched. Her father was not present at the funeral because he had been out with his drinking friends again and was trying to get over a hangover. However, her Aunt Mallory had come, along with her cousins Max and Loraine, and a few other older relatives. They sat directly behind her in the family section. The reverend stood in front of the small crowd of mourners and started to do what he did best.

"Friends, family, mourners, we are gathered here to remember the life of Ariana Maricina, beloved wife -"

\- Reens scoffed at this -

"- and mother. She perished in an unfortunate accident with a drunk driver. We will all remember her and keep her in our hearts."

He walked over to Reens and leaned down to her level as if she was a small child. "Would you like to put in the first shovelful of dirt?"

She nodded, tears coming to the brim of her eyes. As she rose, she could feel the eyes of her extended family on her back. She bent down to clutch the shovel and lifted a mound of dirt, tossing it onto her mother's casket. As if something had snapped, she kept lifting and shoveling until Mallory tried to restrain her. Reens turned to her aunt with grief and was lifted into a warm hug. The whole family joined in, and Reens was being hugged from all sides. Her body ached from the pain, but she was too heartbroken to care.

* * *

When Reens returned home, the first thing she saw was her father splayed across the couch in the living room. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was normal. _Seems like he's still sleeping it off_ , Reens thought as she pulled a blanket over him. He was an alcoholic, smoker, and abuser, but he was also her father. When he heard the blanket rustle, he turned over but kept snoring softly. Reens quietly snuck out of the room and went to her own, changing into a more comfortable outfit. She reentered the living room wearing a light blue tank top with a darker blue t-shirt over it and blue jeans. Usually going barefoot in the house was her favorite thing, except for the occasional splinter.

She went into the kitchen and surveyed the cupboards, frowning as they were almost bare. Moving towards the fridge, another frown crossed her face as there were only a few sandwiches, neither of which were edible, and a bottle of - expired, she found by the smell - milk. After throwing out the rotten food, Reens pulled on her trusty converse and left the house, clutching a few dollar bills in her left hand. The money came from a black box in her parents' room. That was their cigarette and alcohol money, but Reens knew she needed it to provide food.

* * *

The market was bustling as Reens found her way to the fresh food section. Her shirt slid down a little bit, and she hurriedly pulled it up before anyone could see anything. She picked out some healthy and cheap options, then headed towards the checkout aisle. When she reached the aisle, the magazines, candy, and cheap toys were on either side; she tried to ignore them as the cashier rang up her purchases. The cashier frowned at the total.

"That'll be $7.32 with tax, hon," she said with a touch of sympathy.

Reens counted out the money she had, but it only came to about $5.56. She was $1.76 short.

Reens sighed sadly and turned around to go back and put some items back, but then she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, I'll pay for those."

She turned back around to see an orange hedgehog with purple wings, metal tentacles, and light green eyes looking back at her. She yelped and almost dropped the groceries, but the hedgehog picked them up with his tentacles.

"Sorry I scared you," he said as he placed the items back on the counter.

"Oh, you really don't have to do this," Reens tried to dissuade him.

He looked at her with a thin smile, then turned to the cashier. "How much for her groceries?"

The flustered cashier told him, and he took out his wallet and pulled out a $20 bill. After he paid and bagged the groceries, he turned to Reens and handed her the change.

"Oh, please don't. This is too much," she stammered.

He said nothing, then lifted the bags with his tentacles. "Where do you live?"

* * *

Reens led the way back to her house. She could tell which one it was because it had the broken glass in the front window and a white porch swing. She turned to the orange hedgehog to thank him, but he held up his hand.

"No thanks necessary. I was just doing a favor."

He set the grocery bags down and gave Reens another smile. "Take care, all right?"

As he was about to leave, she called out to him. "What's your name?"

He turned back, gave a slight head nod, and answered. "It's Tobias."

"Tobias," she repeated. He nodded and flew away, so she turned to enter her house.

Reens put the groceries away in the fridge and cupboard, surprised at the friendly gesture that the hedgehog - Tobias, she remembered - had done for her. She was not used to such kindness and generosity before, and thus felt that it would be a one-time thing. As she turned to go to the restroom, a growl was heard from the couch; her father was awake and very grumpy.

"Where've you been, squirt? You should've woken me up an hour ago."

Reens slightly smiled at being called 'squirt'; her father hadn't done that in ages. "At the market," she said matter-of-factly. "We needed food again because no one bothered to go and get groceries."

This statement came out a bit too edgy for Reens' taste, but it was too late to take it back. She then turned and went to the bathroom, flipping her braid.

Her father (who was now sober) rubbed his head and looked around at their apartment. "Ariana? Ariana? That darn lady… Ariana? Where are you sweetheart?"

Reens exited the bathroom after hearing her father call out and tried not to bawl, but tears slipped out very subtly. "Mom's gone, Daddy."

"When will she get back? I need to talk to her."

"She's not coming back, Daddy. She's… she's dead."

Bartholomew held back a breath and clamped his jaw shut. Reens knew he only did this when he was thinking hard or was angry. "How'd she die?"

"A c-car accident. I think she was on her way home when she ran into a semi. The doctor said she died instantly."

He rubbed his hair and then patted Reens' hair slightly harder. "There's nothing we can do about it now, squirt. Guess I may have to get a job…"

* * *

Bartholomew was hired, fired, hired again, and fired again in a matter of days, not even weeks. Reens herself could earn some cash at the market she had bought her groceries from, and thus could get a store discount. Because of his failed job attempts, Bart would take money from Reens' paycheck and spend it on alcohol, sometimes not coming home until 3:00 in the morning. Whenever this happened, Reens took care of herself rather well, eating sparingly and only buying new food when the old was spoiled. The abuse she had suffered hadn't stopped completely; in fact, it had only slowed down a little. Reens knew the grace period wouldn't last long.

School was going well - in a relative sense, that is. She was getting good grades in every class, had two best friends in Matt and Nate, and was content with not being popular. Unfortunately, there were some popular kids, like that couple Amy and Sonic. Reens slightly envied them, but it wasn't because they were rich and she wasn't. She envied their freedom of expression. She envied the way they would make friends with anyone, even if those friendships were more for usage than for relationships.

There were also a group of girls she called the A-Team because their names all started with 'A': Alexa, the rabbit who had tripped Reens by the bus; Annalisa, a brown hawk that was friends with her and was just as mean; and Arin, an echidna, and the self-proclaimed leader/planner of the group. They were popular too, but didn't usually hang out with Sonic and his friends. They instead decided to make Reens' life a living nightmare: pulling her braid, spilling cafeteria food on her for no reason, and calling her names like 'rat' and other names she wasn't about to mention aloud.

The other students didn't bother to help her; whether it was because they didn't care or never noticed Reens couldn't figure out. However, one day at lunch, someone stood up for her. Reens had just sat down at her usual empty table and was nibbling on her sandwich when the three girls sauntered over to her.

"Alone again, aren't we?" Annalisa smirked.

Reens ignored her and kept eating. Alexa looked Reens over, then went and grabbed the end of her tray.

"Don't worry, we'll keep you company," she snickered.

Arin went to Reens' other side and grinned sneakily. She then grabbed the other end of her tray and tipped it over, spilling food all over her once again. There wasn't a collective gasp, as the student body had gotten used to it by now, but there was laughter. Lots of laughter.

Reens tried not to cry as she got up from her seat, but the three girls held her back.

"Where you going, ratface? We aren't done with you yet."

They threw her down and started to kick her, their feet connecting with many of Reens' already bruised places, As Arin's fist almost connected with Reens' jaw, a blast of heat came from the other direction, singeing her glove. She jumped back in pain as a lilac cat with golden eyes appeared out of nowhere.

"Leave her alone, or I'll have to make you."

The three bullies knew who the cat girl was, and ran out as suddenly as they had come in. Reens looked up to see the cat standing over her, eyes blazing with protective fury.

"I-I think they're gone now," she said with a small whimper.

The cat smiled and helped Reens up from the ground. "Don't be afraid of me. I'm Blaze, and I think I can help you get cleaned off."


	4. Gym Clothes and a Bloody Nose

Searching for Light

 _Gym Clothes and a Bloody Nose_

 **Author's Note: Cream the Rabbit makes an appearance! (In this fanfic, she is a year younger than Reens is.) Many other characters get cameos! Plus, Tobias returns and Sonic and Amy get an interaction with Reens! What will come of it?**

Blaze let her palms down and led Reens towards the nurse's office, but Reens shrank back from it.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh… I just have a slight fear of doctors," Reens stammered out.

The truth was, Reens had never been to the nurse's office before, and she had never even been to the doctor's office either. Her family didn't have enough money for medicine or treatments because of her father's alcohol addiction, and he would always say that Reens was "too healthy for her own good." Besides, she didn't want the nurse - or Blaze, for that matter - to see the bruises and burns she had gained from years of torture.

Blaze seemed to take Reens' excuse well (although a bit confused) and walked back towards the cafeteria with her.

"So, where's your next class?"

"Oh, I have gym," Reens replied with her hands behind her head, trying to seem more relaxed.

"Really? I'm heading that way myself. Mind if I walk with you?"

Reens shook her head to indicate she didn't mind, and they arrived at the gymnasium in record time. As soon as Reens set her things down and rummaged through her backpack, she started to panic. Her face turned paler than usual and she started to sweat. Blaze noticed this and tapped her shoulder, a worried look creasing her features.

"My gym clothes aren't in my backpack," Reens explained. _I know I packed them yesterday!_

"No wonder," a snarky voice came from the other side of the locker room.

Reens mentally face palmed. _I forgot she was in here_ , she thought as Arin sauntered up to her.

"Your gym clothes were always sort of stinky and nasty. I couldn't bear trying to get past that _smell_ ," she complained with a whine.

"Where are they?" Reens huffed, her hands balling into fists.

"Where they belong, ratface." Annalisa and Alexa sneered as they joined Arin.

"In the toilet. Crap needs to be gotten rid of." Snickers followed.

As Reens fumed, the coach walked in. The coach was a light brown female meerkat with brown eyes, wearing a baseball visor, tennis shoes, an open jacket, and a silver whistle on a cord around her neck. She blew the whistle shrilly.

"All right ladies, enough chitchat! Get your sorry butts out there! I want five laps around the gym, then we'll do our stretches."

The girls groaned and exited the locker room, all except for Reens, who sat on the bench.

As she was sitting there about to cry, a gentle voice reached her ears.

"Do you need some gym clothes? I have an extra shirt and shorts you can borrow."

She looked up from the ground and saw a younger cream-colored rabbit with cinnamon eyes. Her ears were held back like a ponytail, and she looked very kind. Reens nodded, and the rabbit handed them to her.

"T-thank you, uh…" The rabbit had walked out before Reens could give her thanks. Reens changed quickly and ran out to the court to start her running.

* Dodgeball! *

A red rubber ball whizzed past her head.

"Aw, I missed!" a male voice grunted playfully.

It was co-ed PE day, and the girls were against the boys in a dodgeball match. Reens was never much good at dodgeball, but today she was playing better than she had thought she could.

"Heads up, Mina!" a white bat called as another ball swooshed towards the mongoose. She reached out her hands and caught it in one swift move. The male brown bear who had thrown it mumbled a curse and sat down on the bench. *Tweet-tweet! *

"Change sides, everyone!"

The males and females switched sides on the court.

Almost immediately after the balls were reset, Mina got another male out, this one a purple chameleon.

"Whoop! Nice moves, girl! Keep it up!"

The chameleon flashed her a look as he sat down. Soon after, Mina herself was called out by a red echidna.

"Good boy, Knuckles! Keep at 'em!"

The game was tied, with the same number of boys and girls out on each side of the court. Reens panted and wiped her head with the back of her hand. It was only her, Blaze, Amy, and Rouge (the white bat that had cheered Mina on earlier) on the female's' side; Knuckles, a two-tailed light yellow-orange fox named Tails (hence the name), Sonic, and a large green crocodile named Vector on the male's' side.

Vector aimed his ball at Rouge, but Reens quickly stepped between the ball's path and caught it with one hand.

"I-Is that even legal, coach?!" he spluttered as he sat on the bench.

Rouge turned to Reens and gave her a smirk before being hit by Sonic's ball. Blaze tried to make her way to the other side but was intercepted by Tails and was hit, making her out, but the ball rebounded and hit him as well.

"Does that mean I'm out?"

The coach shrugged, letting it slide as Tails walked to the bench and sat down next to Vector.

Amy and Sonic glared competitively across the court at each other, jade and emerald eyes shining, while Reens looked at Knuckles, slightly afraid of him. Knuckles cracked his namesakes and grabbed a ball, throwing it in Reens' direction. She ran the other way and slid past Amy, the ball barely missing her head. She picked up said ball and threw it back, hitting Knuckles in the chest.

"Oomph!"

He shook his head and made his way to the bench, rolling his amethyst orbs. Amy tried to snag Sonic with a ball, but he was too fast for her with his super speed. He picked up a ball and spun around, hitting her in the knees. As she walked off the court, Reens and Sonic were the only ones left.

"Hehe," he chuckled, aiming a ball straight for her chest area. She braced herself for impact.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class and the end of the school day. Both teams headed to the locker rooms, sweaty but proud. Reens let her hair down and redid her braid while Cream and Blaze walked up to her.

"That was amazing, Reens!"

"Yes! If we had a little more time, you would've kicked Sonic's butt."

Reens blushed, twisting a strand of hair. "I'm not sure about that. I can't run as fast as he can."

Reens changed quickly and tried to give Cream her clothes back, but Cream waved her off.

"Those clothes were too small for me anyway. Go ahead and keep them."

Reens nodded and stuffed them into her backpack. _I hope we have enough laundry soap… My clothes stink, both from sweat and a toilet!_

A huff sounded from behind her, and she turned to see Amy, crossing her arms.

"What do you think you were trying to do out there?" she said with a slight tinge of anger.

"Huh?"

"Don't give me that look; I know you were trying to get him away from me!"

Reens sweat dropped as she deduced what Amy was talking about.

"Look, I know you and Sonic are a couple, but that doesn't mean you have to get so defensive around every girl that even comes close to him!" Blaze grumbled with a small twitch of her lips.

"Ames? Where are ya?"

Amy's expression immediately changed to a bright smile.

"Got to go, he's waiting for me!"

The three girls left in the locker room looked at each other and shrugged.

"Love."

* * *

Compliments and high-fives went around after that class, and Reens was not used to having so many people around her at one time. Even Sonic came up to her and high-fived her.

"Great game, Reens! Maybe next time you'll actually hit me."

She laughed, rubbing the back of her head with her other hand. He was dragged away by Amy, the latter giving her a withering look as they passed.

"Wow, what a day! I'm beat," Knuckles said as he passed by. "Oh, good shot by the way."

"Well, I'm heading home," Tails said as he flew beside Knuckles and gave a smile, his baby blue eyes bright. Reens straightened her backpack straps and walked towards the exit. As soon as she got to the courtyard, she noticed someone leaning on one of the brick walls.

"Tobias?"

He looked up, giving Reens a wry grin. "Hello again, Reens. I take it you had a good day today?"

"Yes, it was exhausting, but at least I almost won a game of dodgeball!"

Tobias nodded and noticed Reens' tired expression. "Want me to walk you home?"

She at first shook her head no, but then almost fell over due to fatigue and her injuries which had flared up. Tobias quickly ran to her side and picked her up bridal-style, her backpack in one of his tentacles and his on his back.

"I think you really need a lift." She sighed and held on to his neck as his wings lifted them into the air.

He dropped her off at the market where she worked, helping her put her backpack back on. As he turned to leave, Reens gave him a small wink.

"What was that for?"

"I wanted to thank you," she said with a shrug.

Tobias gave her a thin smile back and flew away, leaving Reens to her work. _He's so sweet_ , she thought, entering the market and hopping behind the cashier's booth.

* * *

"Thank you very much for shopping at Farm Delights! Have a great day!"

Reens smiled as she bagged the groceries of the last customers for that day. Walking into the break room, she slipped into the bathroom and changed clothes. She looked her body over, cringing at a new bruise that had appeared by her left thigh due to her slide in dodgeball. With a bounce in her step, she clocked out and said goodbye to the other cashiers before heading home. When Reens walked to her porch, she could hear drunken laughter from inside. _Not again…_

Her father had his head on the kitchen table, a bottle of whiskey in his hand with an empty glass beside it. As soon as she walked in, he turned his head to her with a silly grin, eyes halfway open and droopy. She grunted.

"You've drunk yourself into a stupor again, haven't you Daddy?"

He shook his head weakly, making it loll from side to side. "What makes you think that, honey?"

She marched over and took the whiskey bottle from him, inspecting its contents. "You've drank almost the entire bottle! There's no way you can be sober after that," she huffed.

Bartholomew's expression changed from barely awake to firm. He stood up from the table and grabbed the whiskey bottle back, holding Reens by her shirt. She struggled against his grip, but he didn't let go.

"Now listen here, girlie," he spat, the smell of his alcoholic breath in Reens' nose. "I choose whether I'm sober, and right now I don't wanna be sober. You have no given right to say anything against me!"

He threw her against the table, knocking it on its side and slamming on top of Reens' left arm. She bit back a scream as he thrust himself upon her, hitting and kicking her harder than he had in weeks. He then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, pressing his foot on her stomach. Taking a few drags, he blew the smoke into her face. She coughed, trying to make herself sit up. He slapped her across the face, knocking her back down. Her eye stung as he leaned in close to her face.

"No one tells me no."

* * *

The next morning, Reens was treated as if she didn't exist (except for Blaze and Cream of course). Her new-found popularity had seemingly vanished overnight.

"That's sports for you," Blaze said as she walked next to Reens' left side. "One minute they love you, the next they don't care a bit."

"It isn't like that, Blaze," Cream piped up.

"They just like the popular ones better," a slick voice crooned from behind them.

Reens turned to see Rouge propped against a locker, checking her nails.

"Are _you_ one of them?"

Rouge laughed and shook her head. "I was, hon. I don't fly with that crowd now."

A small grunt came from her right side, and Rouge moved slightly to the left.

"This is Shadow. We've been close friends for ages now."

"To think I used to be friends with that faker," he hissed under his breath, arms crossed and scarlet orbs narrowed.

As Reens looked at Shadow confused, a blue blur whizzed past them, skidding to a halt. Sonic stood there, gently setting Amy down. He met Reens' eyes but quickly looked away as Amy grinned.

"Why don't you get me a bottle of water, Sonikku?"

He grinned and sped towards the vending machines. Shadow didn't even look at her as she walked near Reens.

"Well, well, well. At least someone knows where they belong," she sneered.

"Don't talk to her like that, Amy!" Cream snapped. "She's our friend! You shouldn't be so rude to her!"

"I would advise you to leave her alone," Blaze hissed, her fur standing on end.

Shadow said nothing, with Rouge checking her nails nonchalantly. "Maybe you should listen to the fire princess, Amy. I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why should I be- Oh, Sonikku!" She squealed in delight as he came running back.

"Thank you for my water."

"Heh heh, no problem Ames," he grinned. "Why don't we go get some breakfast?"

"That sounds lovely," she cooed.

"Oh, brother," Reens groaned. "I hate this kind of stuff."

The cobalt and rose-colored hedgehogs sauntered away together, with Amy looking back and sticking her tongue out at Reens. Reens wasn't fazed by this and simply tossed her braid.

"That's popularity for you," Rouge commented. "They always act that way."

"Popularity is relative," Shadow grumbled.

Surprised to hear him speak, Reens nodded. She picked up her backpack and went to eat breakfast with her new friends.


	5. Home Sweet Horror

Searching for Light

 _Home Sweet Horror_

" _Reens?"_

" _Reens."_

" _Reens!"_

 _Reens groaned and lifted her head from the pillow. Her father was standing over her, holding her backpack._

 _"Daddy? What are you-"_

 _"Get up, rat! You're going to be late for school!"_

 _Reens got up quickly, changed, and grabbed her bag, but he pushed her back down._

 _"Daddy, I have to go!"_

 _Her father then changed into something more terrifying. He grew bigger, and his teeth sharpened into fangs. His hands grew sharp claws, and his voice grew deeper. Reens braced for impact from his attacks-_

"Reens? Hey, Reens, wake up!"

"Huh?"

"You spaced out, hon."

"O-oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was just lost in thought."

* * *

It had been a week since her father had gone overboard, and Reens' arm still smarted from his attack. Luckily, no bones were broken, but she did have a nasty bruise which was covered by her sleeve. A group of the girls had gathered at a local cafe that Saturday to just sit and hang out, and Reens had been invited. At first, she declined, but then was pressured into it with Cream's doe-eyed pleading.

They sat at a booth with respective drinks in hand. Rouge wore a black tank top that showed a bit of cleavage, dark skinny jeans, and black boots; Cream wore an orange tee with a yellow flower on it, white cargo pants, and orange sandals; Blaze wore a dark purple V-neck with a light purple jacket over it, faded blue jeans, and white sneakers; while Reens wore a light blue turtleneck, blue jeans with a few holes in them, and her trusty blue Converse.

She felt slightly out of place whenever Blaze and Rouge talked about their respective boyfriends, Knuckles and Silver. Reens had already met Knuckles, but she hadn't met Silver before. Cream wasn't speaking either, mostly because they would lightly tease her about a crush she had on a certain fox boy. Eventually, the conversation died down, and three pairs of eyes looked expectantly at her. She blushed awkwardly and scuffed her foot on the floor.

"What are you looking at?"

Rouge leaned in to Reens' left side and grinned. "Well, honey, don't you have anyone?"

Reens rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know what you're talking about," she grunted.

"A pretty girl like you should turn a few heads," Blaze added, reaching Reens' right side.

"Well, there is this _one_ guy I've been seeing lately," she confessed with a deeper blush.

"Please don't tell me it's Sonic."

"What? No, no, no, Sonic is Amy's boyfriend; I'd never take him away from her."

"Well, then, who is it? Is it someone we know?" Rouge pried.

Reens tugged her sleeve, with a small thread coming undone. "His name is Tobias. He's saved my skin a couple of times."

"Tobias?" Cream said incredulously. "He's in my science class! He's so nice."

Rouge and Blaze exchanged a knowing look.

"Ooh, you've got it bad," Rouge chuckled, sipping her tea.

Reens shrank against the booth, her soda in one hand. "I don't like him _that_ way, he's just really kind and generous."

Blaze shrugged with a sip of her water, while Cream played with the straw in her milkshake.

"What about those two guys you were friends with at the beginning of the year? They seemed like nice people," Cream piped up.

"Oh, them. I guess we just lost contact. That and now they're the boyfriends of my former enemies."

* * *

The subject was eventually dropped as they went their separate ways. Cream's home wasn't too far away from Reens', she found out, and she asked Reens to come over. Knowing her father was gone on another drinking outing and wouldn't be home until late, Reens complied. She had never been to a friend's home before, and she wanted to make the best of it. She was amazed at what she saw. As soon as they walked up the driveway and entered the front door, her jaw dropped.

The house was gorgeous, very different from the stuffy apartment home Reens and her father lived in. The floor plan was spacious, letting in plenty of natural light. Though the living room was simple, it looked - and smelled, as Reens inhaled lavender- homely. A fluffy couch with a quilt was in the middle, between two armchairs that also had quilts. The coffee table was made of light wood and covered with a doily. It also had a scrapbook, which Cream explained to be a pastime of her mother's'.

Cream showed Reens her upstairs room, and it was nicer than Reens had ever seen before. Her twin-sized bed had a plush yellow comforter and two orange pillows, along with a few stuffed animals. The closet wasn't large, but it could keep all her clothes together. Cream also showed Reens Cheese, her Chao, which usually slept next to her in a little bed of its own. As the two girls laughed and talked together, an older female rabbit walked in lightly. Cream turned around and gave a big smile.

"Mother!"

Now it was Reens' turn to look incredulous as the older rabbit stepped into view. She smiled at Reens warmly.

"I'm Vanilla, Cream's mother. It is very nice to meet you…"

Reens quickly covered for her. "Reens Maricina, ma'am, but you can just call me Reens."

Vanilla nodded and looked over to Cream. "I was wondering if you girls would like a snack."

"Yes, please," they said in unison, cracking up. Vanilla returned with some cookies, and as the two sat on Cream's bed eating, Cream noticed something on Reens' eye.

"Reens, what happened to your eye? You have a bruise there," she asked.

Reens' face turned slightly more pale. She didn't want to tell Cream about her experiences, but she also didn't want to lie to her new friend. Hiding her eye beneath a bang, she sighed.

"I just got hit in the eye with a baseball playing catch with my dad, that's all. The bruise will probably heal quick."

Cream seemed to take it, and Reens breathed an inner sigh of relief. They wiped the cookie crumbs off the bed and went downstairs to put their plates in the sink. Looking up at the clock, Reens gasped.

"Oh dear, I'm going to be late for my shift!"

She grabbed her backpack and gave Cream a quick hug before running off to the market.

Vanilla clucked her tongue, shaking her head. "I feel so sorry for that sweet girl…"

"Chao-chao!"

* * *

Reens reached the market and panted, quickly changing into her uniform. When she slunk to her cashier's booth, her boss was standing there, nonchalantly tapping her foot.

"Mrs. Meyers? What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Meyers was a red panda with honey-colored eyes who always wore a fluffy black shirt with a grey pencil skirt and black heels. Today, however, she was wearing a uniform with an apron instead. She was a kind employer who expected hard work, and Reens had been working too hard in her opinion lately.

"I believe it is time for you to take a few vacation days," Mrs. Meyers chirped.

Reens immediately started to protest. "N-no, I haven't d-done my shift y-yet and you k-know I work r-really hard every d-day -"

Mrs. Meyers took Reens' shoulders gently and looked her straight in the eyes. "You're working _too_ hard. You're hardly buying food and always look depressed. You _need_ this, honey. I'll even make like it's sick pay and pay extra."

Reens fumbled with her shirt buttons until Mrs. Meyers gently pushed her towards the bathroom door.

"Get changed and go home, dear. I'll see you in a few days."

Reens looked back until Mrs. Meyers left, then entered the bathroom and changed again.

* * *

It was around 9:00 when Reens left the market. She hugged her body and kept walking down the street. As she approached a set of buildings, a wolf-whistle made her ears prick up. She turned and noticed a slinky yellow mink with dirtied fur staring at her. He was holding a bottle of vodka in his hand and swirling it around, taking a sip occasionally. After gulping down a swig, he grinned.

"Hey sexy thing, what are you doing out here this late?"

She ignored him and kept walking, but he blocked her path.

"I know what we could do," he slurred. "You could come with me, and we-"

"Hey, Brendan! What's going on over there?"

Brendan turned around and greeted his friends, a teal platypus and a grey fox. They both held knives in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.

"Jake! Ian! What up family? Just keeping this little broad safe from strangers."

He winked in her direction and Reens gagged. Jake and Ian exchanged a glance and grinned.

"We wanna piece of the pie, Brendan."

"Yeah, make it a good one."

Brendan chuckled and stepped aside. "Be my guest, fellas."

The three slightly drunk Mobians gathered around Reens, making her more uncomfortable by the minute. She put up her fists in a feeble attempt, mostly since her bruises were starting to twinge with an all too familiar feeling.

"Aw, what's wrong, doll? We aren't going to hurt you," Jake teased with a smirk on his bill.

He grabbed Reens' arm and pulled her close to him. "Lemme see how sweet you taste." He lifted the knife above her chest.

As Reens tried to pull away, an orange, purple and gray blur swooped in from above and knocked Jake back.

"Oof! Watch it you-" Jake rubbed his bill, a trickle of blood forming. Reens had been knocked back as well, landing hard on her bottom, and hitting her head on the wall. She tried to get up, but Ian knocked her back down.

"My turn," he sneered, leaning in for a kiss; Reens accidentally gave him a right hook when she swung her robotic arm. He fell back clutching his eye as Brendan scoffed.

"You two don't know any way to treat a lady." He grabbed Jake's knife and rushed at Reens, slicing the air.

"I would have to agree," Tobias replied as he gave Brendan an uppercut in the jaw.

It turned into a fistfight between the three drunken Mobians as to who would get to Reens first, but he knocked them all back with the force of wind from his wings.

"Let's get outta here before somebody calls the cops!" Jake barked.

The three of them split up and left their weapons behind, leaving Reens and Tobias alone. He helped her to her feet and brushed her hair out of her eye.

"Are you all right?" Reens nodded, but then let out a whimper. A trickle of blood was beginning to show on her arm and near her head.

Tobias' eyes grew concerned as he saw the blood. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I can walk," she whispered.

They hardly went a few meters before Reens collapsed to the ground. "My leg gave out," she tried to explain.

Tobias picked her up gently and started his ascent, lifting them both into the air. "It's too late for you to go home now," he cautioned. "You'd be better off coming with me."

Reens tried to protest, but he gently shushed her. Her eyes closed on the image of his face as everything went black.

* * *

He stood by the bed with a rose in his hand he had picked for her. She was sleeping soundly, her head and arm tightly bandaged with clean bandages. While he was cleaning her up, he had noticed the other bruises and burns that appeared on her body.

 _Who would have the gall to treat you like this? You deserve so much better._

His thoughts were interrupted as she stirred, finally waking up from the night before.

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head, looking at Tobias with confusion, fear, and gratitude. "Where am I?"

She looked down at the soft maroon comforter that covered her. "This isn't my bed…"

Tobias smiled wanly and pulled the comforter down to make her more comfortable. "You're in my house, Reens."

She tried to sit up but he pushed her back down gently. "You need to rest."

She ceased resisting and lay back down. Tobias changed his position so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed instead of right next to her. As she drifted back off to sleep, he looked the other way and sighed.

"Who is hurting you, Reens? Why?"

He laid the rose on the bedside table and left the room.


	6. Family Matters

Searching for Light

 _Family Matters_

Reens groaned as she woke once again. It was a Monday morning but she felt as if it was still Saturday. She gingerly touched the bandage on her head and winced. It was still sore, but at least it wasn't bleeding. Looking down, she realized that she wasn't wearing _her_ clothes. At first freaking out, she noticed she had on a white nightshirt with blue trim, blue pajama pants with light blue swirls on them, and fluffy blue slippers lying next to the bed.

 _Tobias must have changed my clothes last night,_ Reens mused as she rubbed the soft fabric. _Did he go out and get these for me? I really must thank him. Crap, plus it's a school day! Wait, no, it's a holiday. Never mind. Which holiday, though…_

A gentle knock on the door shook her out of her musings as Rouge poked her head in.

"Rouge? What are you doing at Tobias' house?"

The white bat flew over to Reens' side, her teal eyes creased with worry.

"We heard all about what happened last night and wanted to make sure you were okay. Tobias let us in."

 _We?_ Reens turned to see more of her friends entering the room. They all seemed relieved she was all right, even Shadow, who hardly ever showed his emotions to anyone. Cream was the first to run in for a hug. Being tackled around the neck wasn't what Reens was expecting - from everyone. Shadow stood off to the side, letting them squeeze Reens.

Tobias knocked on the door and they dispersed to make room for him. Reens blushed because she was still in her nightclothes, but he didn't seem to take any notice. He reached for her bandages and gently removed them.

"How are you feeling today?"

Reens blushed deeper at his touch and smiled.

"I feel much better now. At least I'm not bleeding," she said with a grunt.

Cream pulled back the big comforter so Reens could get up.

"Would you boys mind stepping out for a bit?" Blaze purred. "Reens needs to get dressed."

They nodded and left the room, Tobias closing the door softly behind him.

The girls in the room gathered around Reens, but she backed away slightly.

"Hey, let me breathe a little," she teased, her sleeve falling past her shoulder.

Blaze noticed this and went to push it back up, but then saw the bruise. Rouge and Cream noticed it as well, both sets of eyes widening.

"Another one?" Cream asked with a whimper.

"What do you mean, 'another one'?"

"She had a bruise near her eye, and when I asked about it, she said she got hit with a baseball …"

Reens internally shrank in size.

Blaze touched the bruise, and Reens hissed.

"Looks like it hasn't healed yet," she observed calmly. "How many of these do you have, Reens?"

Reens' face drained of color and she hugged herself. "N-not m-many. M-most of them have healed up p-pretty quickly."

Since they were (mostly) alone and no boys were present, Rouge set to work removing all of Reens' clothing. All three of them cringed at Reens' naked form.

Her body was covered in bruises, most of them black and blue from the times when she had accidentally bumped them or was pushed against something. The only part of her without bruises was her robotic arm, but even that was dented in several places. Reens quickly tried to cover them up, but Blaze gently pushed her hands away.

"Who is doing this to you?"

Rouge took Reens' left hand and squeezed it. "Whoever it is, I bet we can give them a pretty good thrashing."

Cream agreed, taking Reens' other hand. "We'll get you through this together, I promise." She squeezed it gently.

The doorbell rang, its sound resonating through the house.

"I'll get that," Knuckles called upstairs.

Reens quickly pulled her clothes back on and started walking down the stairs, the others at her side for support.

"Hello, Knuckles. How is everything?"

"Well, I guess. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"May I come in?"

Knuckles grunted in affirmation and let the guest in. Blaze let out a giggle.

"Silvie!"

"Silvie?" Reens repeated with a cocked head.

"Blaze's boyfriend," Cream answered.

Silver floated up the staircase and swept Blaze into a hug, nuzzling her. "Hey Blaze. You look good."

Blaze blushed and looked towards Reens.

"Reens, this is Silver. Silver, this is my friend Reens."

Silver gently let Blaze down and looked at Reens. He held out his hand and gently took hers.

"It's nice to meet you," Reens whispered as they shook.

"You too," he replied, his amber eyes clouded with an unknown pain. It was hard for Reens to look away, but she eventually tore her gaze to the bedroom.

"Why don't we all go to the kitchen so Reens can get dressed?" Cream suggested.

Approval was unanimous, and as they all went downstairs, Reens ran back upstairs to find some normal clothes.

She saw, neatly folded on the bed, an orange hoodie and a black t-shirt with blue jeans. As she put them on, she noticed the hoodie was a size too big, but the other clothes fit fine.

"Tobias must have let me borrow these. I'd better thank him- again." She slid down the banister and entered the kitchen.

Cream and Blaze were at the stove fixing pancakes and bacon, while the rest of the crew were lounging around the kitchen table. Tobias saw Reens and got up, letting her have his seat. Blushing, she sat down and folded her hands on the tabletop.

"Tobias, uh, I'd like to thank you for the-"

He gently put his finger on her lips and released it, smiling. "You don't have to thank me, Reens. It was the least I could do."

Reens blushed harder as Blaze and Cream handed out plates and silverware.

"Eat up, everyone!"

Reens slowly ate her food, making sure she got every crumb. Tobias saw this but said nothing. Tails' namesakes almost hit Reens in the face, which she didn't mind because they were soft.

"What should we do now? It's a holiday and I don't want to be cooped up here in the house!" Rouge said with a snap of her fingers.

Knuckles cracked his namesakes and shrugged. "I was thinking we could go to the mall today. I heard there's a big sale on some stuff."

The girls, except for Reens, all agreed unanimously. Silver glanced over at Reens and saw her discomfort.

"Hey, if you want, we could go to the park," he suggested.

Reens looked over at the group, but they were already discussing their shopping plans. Cream ran up to Reens and pulled gently on her robotic arm. "Please come with us? It'll be no fun without all of us!"

Reens turned back to Silver, but he nodded, seeming to understand. "I guess if all of us are going, the park can wait for another day."

The group cheered and headed off, Shadow closing the door and locking it. Tails whooped and did a midair somersault.

"Let's go!"

* * *

 _*Pant, pant*_ "Well, this gives a whole new meaning to 'shop 'till you drop'," Rouge giggled.

Blaze walked next to her, her arms also ladened with shopping bags. They had walked around the mall and went to their favorite stores, with Reens and Cream walking behind. Cream only had two shopping bags while Reens had none of her own, helping to carry one each of Rouge and Blaze's load.

"Let's stop and get a bite to eat," Blaze suggested.

The others nodded and headed towards the food court. Since Reens had forgotten to bring any money with her before leaving the house on Friday, she sat at a table and waited for the others to get their meals. Cream returned with two burgers and handed one to Reens, letting her share her fries.

The boys, on the other hand, were all hanging out at the arcade and sports complex, joking and laughing about nothing and everything. Suddenly, the subject of girlfriends came into the conversation.

"So, Knuckles, how is everything going with Rouge?"

"The usual. We fight a bit, we apologize, we kiss, repeat. How about you and Blaze?"

"Everything's going great! You could say we haven't lost our _spark_ yet."

Silver chuckled at his own joke while the others simply nodded. He turned to Shadow with a grin as wide as a piano.

"How come you haven't found _your_ special someone, Shadow?"

Shadow didn't respond, absentmindedly rubbing his fingers on the inside of his jacket. Tails was curious as well but didn't say much, mostly because he didn't want to be pulled into the love conversation about _his_ crush on a certain rabbit.

"Aw leave him alone, guys. He doesn't like _anyone_."

The laughing and joking subsided as a blue blur whooshed into view. He set Amy down gently as she kissed his cheek.

"I'll be back in an hour or two, Sonikku!" she gushed, her jade eyes glittering.

Sonic smiled and nodded. "Don't worry Ames, I'll find _something_ to do around here," he joked.

Amy sauntered away as Sonic approached the group of boys.

"Hey guys! What's shaking?"

They all turned and stared at him, while Tails was the only one who gave him a polite greeting.

"What are you doing here, faker?"

Tobias leered at Sonic and crossed his arms, almost exactly copying Shadow's pose.

"What, I can't go to the mall and hang out with my friends?"

"We aren't your friends, except for Tails," Tobias pointed out.

The boys all nodded in agreement, even Tails, his ears twitching nervously.

Sonic seemed hurt, but it didn't show for very long due to his attitude.

"I heard you were talking about your girlfriends. Man, Ames is the best. After all this time the one that I never thought I would love became the one I can't live without. How about you, Toby?"

Tobias frowned. "My name is not Toby, and I have no interest in females."

"What about Reens?" Silver questioned. "You seem to get along with her pretty well, and the girls said you bought her some clothes."

Tobias grunted with a blush. "She is just an acquaintance of mine. There is no romantic interest between us. At least, not any I know of."

Sonic nudged Tails and they both grinned. They knew Tobias had a thing for Reens; it was obvious.

* * *

Amy almost skipped through the mall as she visited her favorite store. Walking in, she noticed Rouge and the others looking at some jewelry. A smirk came to her lips as she snuck up behind them, eavesdropping.

"What about this one?" Rouge held up a necklace with cherries.

"Mm, no. I don't like that one," Blaze replied.

"I like it," Cream piped up.

Rouge laughed and handed it to Cream, who held it tight in her hand.

"Which one do you like, Reens? I think it might be time to get rid of that old thing," Rouge insisted, reaching for Reens' necklace.

Reens clutched it tightly to her chest. "N-no way," she stammered. "It's the l-last piece I h-have of m-my mother. I won't give it u-up."

Amy chose this time to sneak up behind Reens and pulled her hardest on the chain, breaking it. As her locket fell, Reens turned to see Amy with a satisfied grin on her face.

"Well, I guess you'll _have_ to replace it now," she sneered.

Reens' eyes brimmed with tears as she ran out of the store, clinging to the broken locket as if it were buried treasure.

"Reens, come back!" Cream begged after her, while Rouge and Blaze stared Amy down.

"What did I do?" Amy asked with a feigned air of innocence.

Blaze raised her hand.

Reens ran as fast as she could in the mall until she slammed into Sonic's back.

"Oof! Hey, watch where you're - going…"

He paused, seeing her tear-stricken face.

"You okay?"

She shook her head, eyes clenched tight. Silver came to her side and gently lifted her face up. She looked at him through half-lids. Tobias saw the chain swinging from her grasp and immediately deduced what had happened.

"Amy broke Reens' necklace?" he asked.

Reens nodded as tears fell, and Silver swept her up into a brotherly hug.

"This is what the unknown pain was about, right? Because of me?"

He nodded, stroking her quills. Shadow said nothing as his fist clenched, and Tobias clenched his teeth.

"Aren't you going to do something about this, Sonic? You're her boyfriend you know," Knuckles quipped.

Sonic snuck a glance in Reens' direction as she and Silver broke from their hug.

"What am I supposed to do, break up with her just because of a necklace?"

At that, Reens' sobs started to subside and she turned to Sonic, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears and anger.

"This necklace belonged to my _mother_. She died in a car accident a few weeks ago, and this is _all_ I have left of her! How can you say it's just a necklace?"

Her lip quivered and she broke down again, Tails patting the small of her back gently.

"I bet a jewelry store here can fix it right up. Follow me."

He gently led her that way, Reens wiping her tears on her hoodie sleeve.

"I'll go with them," Knuckles said, catching up with the two. "I need to find a present for Rouge anyway. Maybe something less like an emerald …"

With Reens, Tails, and Knuckles away, the three other guys stared at Sonic. He fidgeted, then groaned.

"Ugh, fine, I'll talk to her. Maybe this whole thing was a misunderstanding?"

Silver, Tobias, and Shadow shared a knowing look as Sonic sped towards Icing. Amy was looking at a rack of shirts when he came to her side. She turned holding a shirt, grinning.

"What do you think of this one, Sonikku?"

He nodded curtly then put the shirt on the rack. "Ames, I need to ask you something."

Amy had seen her boyfriend like this when he was upset, so she put a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Sonic? You can tell me."

"That's just it, Ames. Toby and the guys say that you broke that Reens girl's necklace. You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

Amy's eyes darted from Sonic's face for a split second before refocusing on him. He knew she did that when she was nervous.

"Me? Break her necklace on purpose?" She scoffed. "What kind of person do you take me for, huh?"

He smiled widely, making her feel better for lying to him. She had never done so before, but now she felt okay.

"I'll leave you to your clothes shopping; chili dogs are calling my name!" he whooped as he ran to a chili dog cart.

Amy shook her head and giggled, taking the shirt off the rack to try it on.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tails, Knuckles, and Reens had found a jewelry store that did free repairs with purchase of an item. Knuckles went to look for a present for Rouge as Tails and Reens approached the counter. An elderly white leopard with glasses looked up and squinted his eyes at them.

"Ah, brand new customers!" he growled with delight. "What can I do for you fine folks?"

Reens immediately started to feel a bit better because of his kindness. Tails gently took Reens' broken necklace from her and set it on the counter.

"A certain, er, _friend_ of ours broke her necklace," he gestured to Reens with air quotes on the word 'friend'.

"We were wondering if you could fix it, sir." Reens pushed it gently towards the elder leopard as he examined it.

"Hmm. It's of very fine quality; you hardly ever see a chain like this anymore, I say."

His whiskers twitched thoughtfully, making Tails slightly nervous for Reens' sake. "Please, sir?"

He looked up at Reens' crestfallen face and reassured her.

"I bet I can fix this, however long it'll take me. Don't worry, young lady. Come back in about an hour or two and I'll see what I can do."

Reens brightened at this news. "Thank you very much, Mr. …"

"Arthur Reynolds, but please, call me Arthur."

"Mr. Arthur," Reens finished.

Knuckles came back to the two at that moment with a silver locket in a bag.

"Welp, I got my present for Rouge. Let's get back to the food court, I'm hungry again."

Tails and Reens laughed, then headed that way. "You're almost as bad as Sonic when it comes to eating!"

"I can't help it; being strong means I ought to have a good metabolism, right?"

"Suuurrrreee…"

* * *

They waited an hour before returning to the counter. Arthur was busy wiping it down when they approached.

"Ah, my young friends! Did your lady like the locket?" he inquired, looking to Knuckles.

"She loved it; she squealed really loud and bearhugged me, if that's enough proof for you."

Reens stifled a giggle and turned to Arthur. "Please tell me, sir, is my locket…?"

Arthur smiled and brought out a soft white cloth. "It took me a lot longer than I thought it would, but I was able to fix the chain and make it good as new." He opened the cloth and Reens covered her mouth in joy. Arthur took it and unclasped it, gently draping it over Reens' neck, then fastening it. "It looks beautiful on you," he said with a smile.

Reens gently caressed the locket, giving the chain a few test tugs. It was strong and didn't seem to want to give in. Arthur smiled warmly; seeing how happy she was made him happier as well. "I also fixed the dents on the heart. Don't worry, I didn't completely replace it."

Reens was so happy she almost squealed with joy herself. She thanked the kind leopard again and he handed her a white card with his name and number on it. "If you need any other jewelry fixed, don't hesitate to call me." She nodded as Tails and Knuckles started leading her back to the group. Sonic was still with them; he was stretching his arms behind his head as they approached.

"I guess it's fixed," he said nonchalantly.

Tobias saw how happy she was and didn't expect the sweeping hug she gave him. Shadow and Silver shared a knowing glance until they too were hugged by her. She didn't hug Sonic, but gave him a rather forceful punch on his right arm. It wouldn't have hurt so much if it was her organic arm.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?"

"You know _exactly_ what that was for," she replied with a hint of venom.

The girls, minus Amy, caught up with the rest of the group.

"Where's Ames?" Sonic asked, concerned.

"Your girlfriend's fine, just a little banged up," Blaze stated matter-of-factly.

Rouge sauntered up to Knuckles and kissed his cheek, while Cream and Tails started chattering.

"I think it's time we headed home," Shadow pointed out.

Reens looked up at the time and winced, with Tobias standing beside her.

"I'll walk you home if you'd like," Tobias suggested.

Reens silently nodded as her group of friends exchanged hugs and high-fives, then went their separate ways.

Tobias opened the door for her and she blushed profusely, walking through it like a princess. The two ran the rest of the way, laughing like two lovers would. As they reached her house, Tobias turned and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He stared at her so intently that she began to get nervous.

"What's the matter?" Reens' question was cut off as Tobias dipped her and delivered a kiss - her first kiss ever.

Her eyes widened but she soon closed them; the kiss was sweeter than anything she had tasted before in her life. As they broke apart, Tobias lifted her chin. "I love you, Reens Maricina, and I promise I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

Her eyes teared up, and as she leaned in for a hug, the front door slammed open. Immediately she knew who was there, and she stiffened.

"D-Daddy!"


	7. Truth and Lies

Searching for Light

 _Truth and Lies_

 **Author's Note: Tobias vs. Bartholomew! Who will win? Will Reens be saved? Will more secrets be revealed? Stay tuned for more! P.S.: there will be a little bit of blood, but nothing too gory for younger readers. P.P.S.: If you have suggestions for a later chapter or fanfic, please PM me! Thankee-bye! ^^**

"D-Daddy!"

Reens' eyes widened as she saw her father leering in the doorway, a small glass in his right hand. He was obviously intoxicated, and by the looks of things, not very happy to see a very strange gentleman with his only daughter. He glared, swishing the Jack Daniel's around and taking a large gulp of it.

"Ah… Well, Reens, you're finally home," he slurred, swaying back and forth a bit. "Where have you been young lady? I've been waiting up for you."

Reens didn't move from where she was, and Tobias held her tighter.

"Out," she replied, "with my friends. Tobias was taking me home."

Bartholomew looked at Tobias and sneered. "Well, glad to see she was well taken care of. Get inside, sweetheart," he crooned, his voice dripping with drunken sweetness.

Reens looked up at Tobias and buried her face in his chest before letting him go and walking up the porch. "We'll talk inside," she added, shutting the door behind her.

A small piece of glass fell off the door and landed on the porch, which Bartholomew crushed under his shoe.

"Have a nice night, Tony," he grumbled, opening the door and heading inside.

"It's _Tobias_ ," said hedgehog informed him as the door shut. "My name is Tobias."

As soon as Bartholomew and Reens were alone, he pushed her onto the sunken couch and stood over her, looking at her with contempt.

"What were you _really_ doing?" he asked her, pacing a little.

"I told you already, Daddy, I went out to the mall with my friends. We looked around a bit and my necklace got broken but the kind leopard at the jewelry place fixed it good as new. Afterwards we all went our separate ways and Tobias took me home."

"That isn't what I meant, Reens," he shot back, stopping his pace.

"I meant where were you for the _past few days_! You went missing and I was worried sick."

Reens looked down, wringing her hands. "You never cared before…"

Bartholomew tensed up and turned around. "You've never done anything like this before! You little brat; you could've at least called me!"

"You wouldn't have picked up anyway because you would have been too drunk to function!" Reens retorted, standing up with a grunt.

Bartholomew pushed her back down, twisting her hand behind her back. "You know how I said I loved you whenever Ariana was around? Well, I lied you little idiot! You were a mistake! We never wanted another kid!"

Reens looked up at him, shocked. "W-what do you mean a-another kid? I don't have any siblings… right?"

Her eyes watered as she looked at him, and she wrung her hands together. _This can't be happening right now…_

Groaning, Bartholomew let go of her arm and sat beside her, holding his head in his hands.

"Daddy?"

"It's true Reens. You… you had a brother."

"I did?"

"Yes. He was born prematurely, and we loved him with all we could give him. Your mother was younger and we didn't know how to be parents. One day I came home from work and your mother was sitting at the kitchen table, crying her eyes out and holding him. When I went to ask her what was wrong, she bawled and said he had died. We were both heartbroken, but she took it the hardest. She didn't want another child, but she became pregnant anyway. When's your birthday again?"

Reens looked down. "June 18th, 1998, Daddy."

"Right. Like I said, she didn't want another child, but when you came into the world with your big ice-blue eyes and shriveled arm, she loved you at first sight. We had to get you a robotic arm to replace the one that was damaged, but even so, she loved you very much."

"Is that why you started drinking? Because my brother died?"

"Yeah, I guess so. If he were still alive today, he'd be… well, I think he'd be about 20."

"What was his name?"

Bartholomew ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Corey. Corey Aaron, after my father and your grandpa." He then looked at her with a little glimpse of fire in his pupils. "Ever since the day you were born, I was reminded that he would never take his first steps, never go to school, never figure out what he wanted to do in life; everything was taken away from him. And now…" he jumped up with a hand raised to slap her. "Now you know why I hate you!"

Reens braced herself for the attacks, trying not to cry out as Bartholomew punched and kicked at her body. However, on one of the hardest hits, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Tobias had been walking towards his home when he heard it.

 _Reens! She's in trouble! I should help her!_

He made a 180 turn and flew towards her house, kicking open the front door. Reens lay on the floor in a fetal position, crying and coughing. Her face was red and blotchy, her nose was bleeding, and she had more bruises all over her body. Bartholomew looked up in surprise as Tobias stormed in and ran to her, picking her up gently in his arms.

"Reens! Oh Chaos, oh friggin' Chaos! Reens, can you hear me? Please, can you hear me?"

Reens moaned and looked up at him, her eyes dull and half-lidded. "T… Tobias… I… don't feel… too good…" She coughed some more, and the iron taste of blood was filling her mouth.

"Hang in there, Reens. Please, just hang on."

"Help…" She shuddered and fainted; a small stream of blood was slowly trickling down her mouth. Tobias spread his wings and flew upstairs, going into Reens' room and placing her softly on her bed. He covered her with a blanket before looking around a bit.

Compared to the living room below, Reens' bedroom was clean and well-kept. Her bed was a twin-sized daybed with soft light blue covers and a few stuffed animals. Next to the bed there was a small nightstand with a lamp built in and a green diary. She had a blue plush rug on the floor next to her dresser, which was wooden and had white handles. Her closet was small, for she didn't have very many clothes, and her shoes were lined up neatly in a row. A black and white desk stood in one corner with an electric fan on top of it, along with a pencil case and sketchbook. Tobias laid a stuffed animal, a St. Bernard, on Reens' chest before he left, and smiled when she instinctively hugged it to her chest. Then he went back downstairs to call the police. There was no way she could be helped without them.

Unfortunately, Bartholomew had cut the phone line, so there was no way he could do so. Then he remembered that he had seen a phone in Reens' room next to the sketchbook. He flew up the stairs and grabbed it before Bartholomew could even blink.

"9-1-1 what's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked calmly on the line.

"It's my friend… she's hurt really bad and I don't know if she has anything internal."

"Can you describe what happened?"

Tobias gave her a brief description, and Reens moaned again.

"We'll send an ambulance right away. Please stay by her and try to stop the bleeding if you can. She might be suffering internal damage, but we can't be certain. Also, please stay on the line if anything else happens."

Tobias nodded, although no one could see him, and thanked her, putting the phone close to him and grabbing tissues to hold on Reens' nose. The bleeding slowed, and Tobias could hear sirens. Bartholomew was cursing and pacing the floor downstairs, then heard the sirens as well.

"What the-?"

A small squadron of police cars were parked in front of the house, with the police officers holding up their guns. A pair of them burst into the living room and cornered Bartholomew, while another pair searched the house and went upstairs. They eventually found Reens and Tobias together, with Tobias holding Reens' other hand and the phone on the bed.

"She's pretty badly hurt, "the lioness police officer reported to her partner, a macaw.

"Yeah, looks like it. Ambulance here yet?"

"It's downstairs."

"Good, get the medics in here, and make sure that she's stable. Also, make sure that madman gets nowhere near her."

The lioness nodded and went downstairs to inform the medics about Reens' condition. They arrived, and after taking her vital signs, they lifted her on a gurney and into the ambulance. Tobias sat with her in the back with the paramedics; he didn't want to leave her by herself.

They made it to Goldenflower Hospital and Regional Center, which was about 5 miles away from where Reens lived. As soon as they got in the hospital, Reens was put into the nearest hospital room, and Tobias went with her. He didn't want her to feel alone, but Doctor Brownstone asked him to step out while they examined her. Tobias sat in the waiting room with his arm draped lazily around the side of the couch. Reens' father had been arrested, and was now awaiting his trial; he was arrested on the charges of child abuse, neglect, and driving while intoxicated. The two officers had questioned Tobias, and he had to tell the story all over again. He didn't like repeating himself, but evidence was evidence. The officers had left, and Tobias almost wanted to sleep from boredom and adrenaline.

Finally, after about 15 minutes, the doctor came out of the room and went to talk to Tobias. He looked bedraggled and fidgety, wringing his hands on his stethoscope.

"How is she, doctor?"

The doctor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm afraid that your friend has a few broken ribs, a broken nose, broken hip, a shattered ankle, and some blood loss. It will take a few weeks for her to fully heal, but if you hadn't brought her in, I believe it would have been much worse. Without your help, she probably wouldn't be here."

Tobias was shocked to hear about her condition, and the doctor let him come into the room. Reens was unconscious due to the medicine, so she didn't hear when Tobias came in. Tobias turned on his own phone, which he had forgotten about in the chaos, and called a few friends.

"Hey guys, meet me at the hospital in Goldenflower. There's someone that I think you should see. She'll be happy to see all of you."

* * *

It hardly took 5 minutes for the rest of Reens' friends to arrive. Cream and Vanilla came first, along with a basket of cookies and a get-well card. Knuckles and Tails were also there; Knuckles didn't have a gift, while Tails gave her a quilt that his mother had made for him. Blaze and Silver arrived shortly after, although their gifts were smaller, such as a keychain and a snow globe. Rouge and Shadow came a few minutes after they did, with Rouge giving Reens a silver bracelet from the hospital gift shop and Shadow giving her a rose which he had put in a vase. Amy didn't show up until later, for she wanted Reens' forgiveness for her actions. Tobias regarded them, and they all sat together and talked. Cheese flew near Cream's head and chirped, trying to snuggle into her hair for comfort.

"I can't believe her father would do this to her," Cream whimpered softly, stroking Reens' tight braid.

"Sometimes parents don't understand the value of their children, dear," Vanilla answered with a tone of pity.

"I moved out from my old man. We never really got along, but it was nothing like this," Shadow brooded.

"Where's Sonic in all of this? He should be here by now," Amy whined.

"Why should you care where he is? He doesn't even know that you lied to him," Blaze hissed.

Silver said nothing, but looked at Amy with a twinge of hatred. Rouge and Shadow exchanged glances, while Cream looked like she was about to bawl.

"Is she going to die?"

Knuckles shook his head. "She's strong, don't worry. Besides, no one can hurt her anymore."

"I just wish she was awake so I could apologize to her," Amy mumbled sheepishly.

"I think she's waking up," Tails whispered.

Tobias nodded and leaned forward. "Looks like it. Hey, Reens, can you hear me?"

They all gathered around her as she yawned and slowly opened her eyes. "What's going on? Why are you all staring at me?"

"You mean you don't remember anything that happened?" Shadow asked, rubbing his coat.

"All I remember is Daddy hurting me and Tobias picking me up. Other than that, it's all a blur."

Cream was so happy that she jumped out of her seat and ran over to Reens, hugging her gently around the neck.

"Be careful Creamy dear," Vanilla cautioned. "She's still recovering."

Reens laughed and hugged her back, then winced in pain from her ribs and hip. "Ow… that seriously hurts."

"What are you going to do now that your father is in custody?" Blaze wondered.

Reens looked down at her hands and sighed. "I don't know."

"Maybe you could live with me," Amy suggested, but Rouge shook her head.

"No offense hon, but your house isn't exactly the biggest. And it's farthest from the school."

She then turned to Reens. "Why don't you live with Shadow and I? I think we have a guest room somewhere, don't we?"

Shadow shrugged, putting his arms across his knees. "Let her decide. If she wants to live with one of us, fine."

Tobias smiled at Reens and put her robotic hand in his. "I'd rather you lived with me," he insisted.

"But Tobias, w-we aren't married or anything yet."

"That doesn't matter; I promised to protect you and I will."

Reens' eyes watered, and she pulled Tobias closer to kiss him. Now that it was settled, the healing process could begin.


	8. Hospitals and Heartbreak

Searching for Light

Hospitals and Heartbreaks

 **A/N: Wow, I was a little surprised by the reviews I got from everyone! I'm so glad you guys like my work! To be completely honest with you all, I didn't think it would be that good! Thank you for your support, readings, and reviews! Now, let's get down to business. Reens is still recovering from her injuries in the hospital and Bartho is in jail. There is a bit of Reens X Amy friendship put in with this. Plus, is SonAmy no more? And will Shadow** _ **finally**_ **find true love? Read to find out!**

With a soft thud, the door to Tobias' house opened up into his spacious living room. He set his stuff down on the soft couch before going upstairs to make the guest room a little more comfortable for when she came home. He didn't want to move her too much because her injuries might get worse from the jostling. Also, Reens wasn't a very quick healer, evidenced by the many bruises and cuts she still suffered on her body. It would take more than a few weeks, as the doctor had suggested, for Reens to even take a few steps around the house. She could hardly even stand for a minute now.

He sighed as he worked, thinking about Bartholomew and how he had treated her. Even though he was in jail awaiting his sentence, Tobias couldn't get him out of his mind. He just didn't understand how someone, her own _father_ , would have the gall to treat her as nothing more than a scraggly rag doll. Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing now, and in his anger knocked off a water glass from the nightstand. It shattered, shards of glass spreading on the floor. With a small sigh of annoyance, he bent down to pick them up, being careful not to have the shards cut into his skin.

He grunted as he put them into the trashcan next to the bed. He wanted to be with her, but there were only a few visitors available every couple of hours, and she was in a lot of pain, so hourly pain medication had to be given to her.

 _Maybe I could give her a call… no wait, her phone was broken during the fight with Bartholomew when I tried to use it… crud…_

He then thought of something else -well, some _one_ else- and dialed a number.

"Hey, Amy? Yeah, I know we hardly talked to each other after it, but I have a little bit of a favor to ask of you… It's kind of important to me..."

* * *

Amy sat nervously in the waiting room. The hospital usually wasn't busy this time of day, but today it was different for some reason. Patients were everywhere with various illnesses and broken bones, and Amy didn't want to end up catching something. Finally, after what felt like an hour, the receptionist called her over and found out what she wanted. Amy was given permission to go to Reens' hospital room, which was 324. Riding the elevator up, Amy started to have second thoughts.

 _What if she hates me for what I did to her? Can she ever forgive me? And what about Sonic? He still doesn't know I lied to him … Now or never, I guess …_

She exited the elevator with a very queasy stomach, but took a deep breath to calm down. With a soft knock on the door, Amy entered the light blue room. Reens was fast asleep on the bed, so she didn't notice the door closing with a soft thud.

Looking around, the lack of flowers and gifts left for Reens surprised her; besides the ones left by her friends, the room seemed empty. Wait… she didn't even _give_ Reens a gift! She would have to remedy that soon. With a small yawn coming from the bed, Amy walked over and saw Reens looking up at her, eyes half closed.

"...Amy?"

"Hey, Reens. How are you feeling?"

Reens tried to sit up to see her better, but slid back into her former position because her ribs were hurting. "Ngh… could be a lot better, to be honest. I can't move too much."

Amy moved towards her bed and sat on its edge, making sure not to get too close. "Reens?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I'm sorry."

Head cocked to one side and ears twitching, Reens looked confused. "Sorry? For what?"

Amy wrung her hands together and sighed. "For… breaking your necklace. And making you feel awful at school. And hurting you. And… and…"

She trailed off, seemingly unable to find the words to express her thoughts fully.

As much as she could, Reens reached up and put her finger on Amy's mouth.

"Look, Amy… I know why you did it. You were jealous of me, right? You thought I would take Sonic away from you just because I was newer and he seemed to like me a little bit. That's why you did what you did. Everything was because of hatred."

Reens sighed and rubbed her locket, still looking good as new from the kind snow leopard's handiwork.

"But… I forgive you for it all."

Amy tried to speak, but Reens gently shushed her.

"I know what it's like to be jealous of somebody. When I first came to school, I was jealous of you, unbelievably. I wanted what you had. Not clothes or money or anything like that; more like the friendships you made and the love Sonic had for you. I never had that, but now I do. Everything I wanted was because I learned from those I interacted with."

Amy nodded and rubbed her shoulders.

"I… I think I should tell him about lying to him."

"Well, if you don't Amy, somebody else will, I guarantee it. The only way to make it better is telling the truth… even if it hurts you- and him."

* * *

Sonic was lounging at Tails' house, doing absolutely nothing as usual, when the doorbell rang.

"Sonic! Can you get that? I'm working down here!"

"Sure, bud! I'll get it!"

He sped to the doorway and opened it. "Hey Ames! What's up?"

Amy entered the house with a saddened expression. "Can we talk?"

Sonic was a little surprised to see his girlfriend sad like that. She hadn't been that sad since the two of them became a couple. He led her to the couch after shutting the door and let her sit down.

"Want anything? I can make some cocoa."

"You don't have-"

Sonic sped off and came back with two steaming mugs of the chocolatey liquid with marshmallows, handing one to Amy before she could finish her sentence.

"-to. Never mind, Sonic. I wanted to confess something."

Sonic set his mug on one of the coasters and considered her jade eyes. "What is it, Ames? You know if you have a problem, you can always come to me."

Amy sipped her own mug and stared into it. "Remember at the mall when you asked me if I broke Reens' necklace on purpose?"

Sonic twitched his ear and nodded, rubbing his nose. "Yeah, what about it? Is she okay?"

"She's in the hospital right now, but that's not the point."

Sonic's eyes widened a little, but he couldn't say anything.

"J-just hear me out, okay? When you asked me, I had no idea what to say, so I… I lied to you…"

His eyes went from worried to a hint of anger.

"Amy, you… you _lied_ to _me_?"

"Sonic, I-"

"I can't believe it. When we first got together as a couple we promised we wouldn't keep any secrets from each other! I told you everything about my life and you told me everything about yours! Secrets buried for _years_ , Ames! And now you go up to my face and _lie_ to me?"

He was up and pacing now, his hot chocolate cold and forgotten on the table.

"How could I- no, how _can_ I- ever trust you? You know how I hate liars!"

He looked down at the aqua-colored glass bracelet she had given him last year for his birthday; the one he had been hinting at for months but felt like she never noticed; the one where, when she finally gave it to him, caused him to almost squeal in delight; the one that, now, he was contemplating to destroy.

"S… Sonic?"

He sighed, then put his head in his hands and sat back down on the couch. "I think it's time you left, Amy. The door's right over there."

Amy's eyes grew wet, but she obliged, closing the door softly behind her. As soon as she left, Sonic took the beloved bracelet and broke the string, glass beads cupped in his palm and thrown into the trashcan. With a sigh, the now-single blue hedgehog laid down on his couch and sniffed.

* * *

Reens was soon awakened from a nap by a light tapping on the door. She looked up to see Tails carrying a large bookbag, which he set down beside her.

"Tails? What's all this?"

She tried sitting up a little, this time succeeding, and Tails gently laid a stack of papers in her lap.

"This is all the recent homework you've missed while here, but I went ahead and collected it all for you so you wouldn't have to ask for it."

"Thanks, but I don't think I can do any of this-"

"Don't worry, I'll teach you. Now, I won't be able to do any of it for you, but maybe we can work together."

Reens smiled and motioned with an ear over to an armchair.

"You can pull that up and sit next to me if you want to."

Tails grabbed said armchair and plopped into it, pencil in hand.

"Okay, you have Algebra II first? That's easy stuff, here's how. You just take these sets of coordinates and multiply by 3, then put them back in here…"

* * *

Tears streaming down her face, Amy ran down the street. She didn't know where she was headed, and now, she didn't care. All she could think about was how cold Sonic looked; how angry he had been; how he had yelled at her… She didn't see Shadow leaving his house to go to the park. With a grunt, the two collided, Amy knocking Shadow clear off his feet.

"Hey, watch where you're going- Rose?"

He looked at the distraught female, contemplating whether to give his assistance.

"It's the Faker, isn't it? What did he do this time?"

With a loud sob, Amy hugged Shadow close to her.

"He… we… we're over," she cried into his chest fur.

Surprised by her actions, Shadow made attempts to push her off him.

"What makes you say that?"

Amy looked up at him, her eyes overflowing, and Shadow made his guess.

"He got ticked off because you lied to him about something, right?"

"H-how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess. And I know how the Faker feels about lying. Yet he lies sometimes himself. It doesn't make much sense."

Amy took a gulp of air and sighed, sniffling softly.

"Rose?"

"Yes, S-Shadow?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "How about I take you out for dinner tonight?"

Amy removed herself a bit and blinked. "You mean it?"

"Yes, just you and me… together."

* * *

Tails had finally left the hospital and was heading home to work on his inventions some more. Reens sat in the bed, completed homework in a pile next to her. Now that it was finished with Tails' tutoring, she felt bored.

 _Nothing I can really do here except sleep, get pain medicine, eat, pee, repeat. Gah, if only my phone was with me I could chat with somebody…_

Another knock came to the doorway followed by a light blue aura around it. Silver floated in, accompanied by Blaze. The two sat on one side of Reens' bed, both looking at her.

"We thought we should stop by and see how you were," Silver explained as he shut the door without even turning around to look at it.

Blaze nodded in silent agreement and looked Reens over. "Hmm, your bruises seem to be starting to heal, even though it will be a long process."

"Yeah, they are. Thanks for coming over. I've already had other visitors today, so I guess I don't feel too bad," Reens admitted.

She sat up a little higher than before, cheering silently.

Silver looked at Blaze and snapped his fingers, a light bulb appearing over his head for a split second before he pulled out flowers from behind his back.

"Since you can't go anywhere right now, we thought we could bring some of the park to you."

"Aw, guys, you didn't have to," Reens laughed as the flowers tickled her nose and she sneezed, making her already throbbing nose bleed a little.

"Silver, put those away! You're making her worse!" Blaze scolded, grabbing a nearby tissue, and holding it to Reens' nose.

At that moment, a nurse walked in with some pain medication.

"Is everything all right in here?"

Reens' voice was a bit muffled by the tissue, but she nodded her head a bit.

"Yeah, I just sneezed. Blaze, you can get the tissue off now; it's not bleeding anymore," she replied with a soft grunt.

Blaze removed the tissue and turned it into ashes while the nurse came closer with a needle.

Silver looked at the needle worriedly, his ears twitching.

"Silver?"

"I-I'm okay, R-Reens. I j-just don't r-really like- *gulp*- n-needles."

"It's okay, Silver; that needle's for me," Reens reassured him as the nurse gently turned her onto her left side. She stuck the needle in as Reens hissed, the pain medicine flowing through her veins.

"There we go," the nurse whispered, placing a cotton ball over the spot and securing it with medical tape.

A cute yawn came from the patient, and Blaze smiled, looking over at Silver.

"C'mon Silvie. We should leave her alone now. She still has a long way to go."

The two removed themselves from the bed and left, Reens' face pulled into a gentle smile as she slept.

* * *

Meanwhile, Knuckles, Rouge, and Sonic were all hanging out at said redhead's apartment. The blue hero was still distraught from losing Amy, but tried his best not to show anything. Rouge was very good, being trained by G.U.N., at reading emotions by looking at the face and eyes. Sonic's face was hard to read, but today his guard was lower than usual. Knuckles looked over at his girlfriend, uneasiness creasing his brows. No one said anything until Sonic broke the silence with an annoyed grunt.

"What are you guys just sitting there staring at me for?" His foot tapped, waiting with a huff.

Knuckles cleared his throat, uncomfortable, and pointed a gloved fist in Sonic's direction.

"For starters, you've been acting a lot less cocky and confident than usual."

"So what?"

"It really isn't like you, Big Blue," Rouge added cautiously. "By now you probably would've gotten up and left us because you were bored, but you haven't moved a muscle since you came here."

Sonic didn't reply, which made Knuckles even more uneasy.

"Seriously, what's the deal?"

Sonic twitched his left ear and sighed, rubbing his nose. A knock was heard at the door, and Knuckles got up quickly to answer it.

When he opened the door, a visibly upset Cream stood in the doorway, hugging Cheese to her heart.

"Cream? What are you doing here?"

With a sob, she ran into the room and bearhugged Rouge, Cheese flying around over her head.

"It's awful, simply awful! Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?" Rouge asked, although slightly squished with her fur wet by Cream's tears.

"S-Shadow and A-Amy!"

With the mention of his former girlfriend, Sonic sat up. "Huh? What about them? Is something wrong?"

"They're… they're… together!"

Sonic's world ground to a screeching halt as he looked over to Cream, his fists clenching and unclenching.

"What do you mean by together?"

"They're… _dating_."


	9. Nothing Normal, Nothing New

Searching for Light

Nothing Normal, Nothing New

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've had writer's block recently and I've also been starting another story with Reens as a Hispanic gamer girl. The story so far: Reens is** _ **still**_ **in the hospital, but in this chapter, she's almost ready to go home with Tobias. Sonic has lost Amy to Shadow but is determined to renew her love for him. Cream and Tails have started to blossom their romance, along with Silvaze and Knuxouge making their relationships stronger. What else will happen? Find out! Please read/review/suggest content for future chapters and/or fanfics. I really appreciate all your help and support.**

"They're… _dating_."

Cream's voice took an uncharacteristic tone of mild disgust as she said the words. A record seemed to scratch as Sonic finally let Cream's words sink in.

"She's with Shadow… willingly?"

Knuckles cocked his head and sighed.

"Really? I didn't think Shadow cared."

Rouge patted Cream's back gently before peeling her away and onto the couch. "Shadow cares about everyone, Big Blue. It's just… he has an odd way of showing it."

"Oh, so he's showing Amy he _cares_ about her by taking her away from me?" Sonic mocked Rouge sarcastically, getting up from the chair he was in.

"Now, don't go and do anything rash. You'll regret it-" Rouge was cut off as the door slammed on her unspoken words. She turned to Knuckles and Cream with a slightly appalled expression.

"That… could've gone better, couldn't it?"

Knuckles' answer was a fluffy pink pillow to the face and a huff.

* * *

With her release date fast approaching, Reens sat upright in her hospital bed, her quills tingling. She was excited not only to see Tobias and be with him, but also to finally escape the confines of her hospital room. Imagine her surprise when a gust of wind blew into the room and casually seated itself on the easy chair next to the bed, holding up a small gift box clumsily wrapped. For the hero of the world, he wasn't exactly the world's best gift wrapper; even so, Reens was apprehensive about his presence.

"Well, what brings _you_ here, eh? I'm shocked you even decided to visit me." She flung the words at him like daggers with disdain. "You're the only guest I wasn't planning on seeing, you know."

He huffed and tossed the present lightly at her. She opened it carefully and gasped at its contents.

"A pair of … goggles?"

"Yeah, I wanted to make it up to you, you know, about the whole mall situation. And to think it's all because of Amy."

Reens settled the goggles onto her head and cocked it, looking at Sonic blankly. "What about Amy?"

Sonic twitched his ears and explained his situation to her, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair. Reens didn't say anything as he talked, thinking, and shaking her head.

"So lemme get this straight. You guys made a promise not to lie to each other, right?"

Sonic grunted, slapping his hand on the armrest.

"Well, not to be rude, but that's a stupid promise to make, ya know."

"S-stupid?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, but a relationship is mostly about trust, and everyone slips up now and again."

"But you and Tobias-"

She shook her head, smirking. "I haven't had a reason to lie to him yet, and as of late I don't think I'll find one."

Sonic sighed at this, drooping his head. "So, what do I gotta do?"

Reens' smirk faded as she thought, her robotic right arm clenching and slowly unclenching.

"If it were me, I'd settle for flowers, chocolates, promises you wouldn't intend to keep…"

"C'mon, you know I'm not exactly the most romantic guy out there. What else is there?"

With a shrug, Reens took off the goggles and laid them back in the box. "Well, what does she like?"

"… Me …"

Sonic then got up from the armchair and sat on the edge of Reens' bed, crossing his arms.

"I'm just… scared of losing her forever, you know? I love her, Reens."

"Rain."

"What?"

Her cheeks turned a soft red as she looked up at him. "If it's raining. It would be romantic, eh? You and her, standing in the rain, you confessing your undying love and she accepting it."

"Yeah, but there's not a cloud in the sky. Where am I supposed to get-"

A large rumble of thunder and flash of lightning streaked across the sky, making tiny raindrops fall from the heavens until they turned larger and heavier. Sonic looked over to Reens.

"How did you know-"

She chuckled and waved him off the bed. "Go get her, tiger. Ask questions later, kay?"

* * *

Amy and Shadow had been at a small cafe for the last few hours, chatting and eating baked goods. When the rain started, Amy looked outside the window, sighing.

"What's the matter, Rose?"

Amy looked over at the striped hedgehog, his ruby eyes seemingly trying to examine her feelings. She tried to make as if nothing was wrong and smiled, sipping her mug of hot chocolate.

"Oh, nothing, it's just the rain always dampens my mood a little bit, you know?"

He nodded, smirking as whipped cream ended up on her nose. He resisted the urge to lick it off, instead using a gloved finger to wipe it away and onto a napkin. Amy blushed a little and laughed as he ended up with the same problem, this time more like a full moustache than just a bit on his nose. She leaned in and wiped it off him gently.

Shadow grunted, but Amy couldn't tell if it was from pleasure or annoyance. Soft music began to play from onstage, and Shadow stood up to offer Amy his hand.

"Would you care to dance with me, Rose?"

She giggled and let him take her hand, walking with him to the dance floor. The two of them moved as one, gliding, dipping, and spinning. Amy laughed harder than she had in a long time, and even Shadow got a few chuckles in. The music slowed to a stop, and Shadow dipped Amy lower, ready for a kiss. Amy leaned up her face to do so, but noticed Sonic out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes slowly widened, and she gently pushed Shadow out of the way. Sonic was standing there, dripping wet, his shoes muddy and quills unkempt.

"S-Sonic? When did you get here?"

He didn't answer her; he was too ticked off at the ebony hedgehog to even speak.

"Why don't we take this outside?" He suggested in an eerily calm tone, one gloved hand pointing backwards to the door.

"Gladly," Shadow answered, pulling tightly on his gloves. "I'll be right back, Rose, once I find out what the faker wants with me. As always."

The two males exited the cafe and walked into a secluded alley, where Sonic shifted into an offensive stance.

"You want to battle me, right here, right now, Sonic? It's not like you," Shadow observed as he crouched into his own stance. "I enjoy our sparring sessions, but this is uncalled for."

"I'll tell you what's uncalled for," Sonic replied with a hint of venom as he lunged for Shadow's side. Shadow sidestepped him and delivered an uppercut to Sonic's chin. Sonic slid backwards and into a spin dash, which Shadow endured quietly.

"Hooking up with Amy is uncalled for!"

"Ah, so this is what it's all about," Shadow smirked as he threw Sonic against the wall. "You're jealous."

"A-Am not!"

"Then why do you care whether I am with Rose or not?"

"Because she doesn't deserve a guy like you!"

Sonic grunted, kicking out with his feet and flipping over Shadow's head.

"She doesn't deserve someone who can be a 'hero' one minute and an absolute jerk the next!"

"I think you are describing yourself, Faker," Shadow quipped, his smirk fading into his trademark frown of annoyance.

"What?"

"You loved Amy, right? Keyword, 'loved'. You treasured her like the jewel she is, always showering her with compliments and gifts and such. Why didn't you realize it sooner? Amy was with me because she wanted time with me. You gave her _things_ , Sonic, but never your 15 minutes of fame."

"Just shut the hell up, Shadow!"

Sonic roared, slamming Shadow against the wall this time.

"You don't know anything about love because _you can't love_ _anyone_!"

It was very subtle, but Sonic caught Shadow's eyes flash with hurt and sadness. He shrank back, letting Shadow go to the ground.

"For your information, Faker, I _have_ loved before," Shadow whispered, getting his bearings. "A golden hedgehog with crystal blue eyes. Her name was Maria. We were always together, and she loved me like Amy adores you- just less fangirly."

Sonic scoffed at that. "What happened to her?"

"She had cancer - leukemia - and she died just before our 5-month anniversary as a couple. She… she was everything I had."

Sonic lowered his eyes to the ground, still fuming. "What does that have to do with Amy?"

"What I am saying, Sonic, is this: Don't let her fade away from your life like Maria did in mine."

* * *

Said sakura hedgehog was still waiting in the cafe booth, bored. She had torn up some napkins as she waited, but they didn't serve to ease her discomfort any. She had also tried texting Cream, Rouge, and Blaze, but none of them would answer her. Finally, Sonic shuffled back in, but Shadow was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Amy asked, slightly worried.

"Oh, Shadow? He went home," Sonic replied nonchalantly, sliding into the booth, and sitting across from Amy.

"Why? I thought everything was going great."

"Sure, you did. Can we … talk for a minute? As friends?"

Amy shrugged, and eventually the two of them talked, not romantically, but still cordial. Progress was made.

Cream hadn't answered Amy's texts because her phone was off, and Tails was currently over at her house for a study session. Rouge and Knuckles were still at his place, talking and eating some fruit salad he had bought. Blaze and Silver were on a date at the arcade, where she was currently kicking his butt at Dance Dance Revolution. Everyone was working on their relationships … but would it last?


End file.
